Santa Rosa opposes Assembly bill on sidewalk repair

A bill about the responsibility for sidewalk repair is making its way through the state legislature.

Assembly Bill 2231, introduced earlier this year by Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, would shift the burden of paying for sidewalk replacement from adjacent property owners to cities and counties.

Santa Rosa opposes the bill, citing the financial burdens it would create.

"It is difficult to justify repairing a sidewalk for a homeowner in a residential neighborhood instead of rehabilitating major streets that carry tens of thousands of vehicles daily," the city wrote to local legislators in a letter signed by Mayor Ernesto Olivares.

Over the past five years, there have been more than 100 incidents involving people tripping on sidewalks in the city, a third of which resulted in claims being filed against the city.

None of those claims were paid, however, because city ordinances place the liability squarely on property owners, according to the letter.